The Voice of the Students at DeSales University

‘Lady Doritos’ divide men and women

On Jan. 31, on an episode of the “Freakonomics Radio” podcast, the chief executive of PepsiCo Indra Nooyi was heard saying that women do not eat Doritos the same way as men.

“They don’t like to crunch too loudly in public. And they don’t lick their fingers generously, and they don’t like to pour the little broken pieces and the flavor into their mouth,” she said.

Nooyi later said, “It’s not a male and female as much as, ‘Are there snacks for women that can be designed and packaged differently?’ And yes, we are looking at it, and we’re getting ready to launch a bunch of them soon. For women, low-crunch, the full taste profile, not have so much of the flavor stick on the fingers, and how can you put it in a purse? Because women love to carry a snack in their purse.”

On Feb. 3 The Sun picked up the story and reported on the “Lady Doritos,” which quickly spread to other news sources writing stories on these rumored chips. Since then, PepsiCo released a statement clearing up the misunderstanding, “The reporting on a specific Doritos produce for female consumers is inaccurate. We already have Doritos for women – they’re called Doritos, and they’re enjoyed by millions of people every day. At the same time, we know needs and preferences continue to evolve, and we’re always looking for new ways to engage and delight our consumers.”

As for how Doritos plans to “evolve” is unknown. A spokesperson for Doritos was cited saying she cannot elaborate on details, but that in a few months she will be able to disclose the plans.

Until the public is made aware of future plans for PepsiCo, I would like to address some major concerns with Nooyi’s initial statement that sent the Internet into a frenzy. The idea that women do not want to “crunch too loudly in public,” “lick their fingers generously” or “pour the little broken pieces and the flavor into their mouth” is completely ludicrous. I’m sure I will not be the first to say that I have done all three of those things in public without giving a single thought to how I looked or how others perceived me in the moment.

And, why should I, as a woman, worry about eating differently than my male counterpart? There are millions of other things women should spend their time worrying about such as fixing the gender pay gap and climate change, ending world hunger and fighting sexual harassment, just to name a few. Spending brain capacity stressing over how loud a chip crunches is truly a waste of time and energy; there are much more pertinent problems to think about.

Second, the idea of creating a snack just “for women” is alarming. Segregating food based on gender only furthers the divide between men and women, exaggerating our differences and blowing them out of proportion. Not only that, but it reinforces stereotypes of women needing to be proper, quiet, always clean, pulled together and never sloppy.

It is time for society to recognize that the differences between men and women need not be more than biological. There’s no need to act differently, eat different, be paid differently, treated differently, etc. And so with that, I’m telling you to crunch a little louder and lick the flavor off every finger until they are clean, because after all, no one wants to waste any of the powder.

Social Media

Download Latest Issue

Pick up your copy of issue 53-04 today!
Featured Articles:
Turkeys roam around DeSales' campus
General Education Forum looks into revising curriculum
Simulations of investigations: DeSales crime scene house
A list of gateway classic films for any movie-lover
Check out these other articles in the issue:
Don't rely on social media for your news intake
What is the actual value of career fairs for college students?
From the Editor's desk...
Math Club's annual escape … [Download Here]

Subscribe to The Minstrel

More Articles

By Andrew Beers
Sports Editor
On Feb. 9, the DeSales basketball teams hosted their seasonal Pink Game in hopes to raise money for cancer awareness.
A video was uploaded to the DeSales athletic page online to explain the event and what it aims to do. The athletes in the video explained who … [Read More]

By Bridget Walsh
Editor-in-Chief
Welcome back. I hope everyone enjoyed their well-deserved winter break and managed to relax. This semester has really kicked into gear, papers are due, tests are being taken, and the weather has been confusing again. One can only imagine what to expect in the … [Read More]

By Raymond Horchos
Staff Writer
Feast Week is a long-standing tradition in the Salesian community. Formerly known as Heritage Week, Feast Week gained the new name this year to be in accordance with the Salesian community at Salesianum School. Feast Week occurs in the week leading up to the … [Read More]

By Alaine DeSantis
Staff Writer
On Thursday, Jan. 3, 28 students departed in three vans to Indianapolis, Indiana for SEEK 2019, a conference presented by the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS). A Catholic collegiate outreach, FOCUS has as its mission the sharing of “...the hope … [Read More]

By Andrew Beers
Sports Editor
With the DeSales baseball team selected second in the MAC conference preseason poll, head coach Timothy Neiman is expecting a phenomenal season. The Bulldogs are looking to smash the competition and their rival Misericordia University, who is seeded first in the … [Read More]

Editorials

By Chris Shaddock Editor-in-Chief Lately, I have been trying to open up about myself, and I think part of that requires me talking about my depression. I have been diagnosed for about a year and half. I probably had it longer than that, though. When I went to South Korea between my sophomore and junior […]

Editorial Policy

Any member of the DeSales community is welcome to submit an editorial for publication. The editors of the Minstrel reserve the right to edit all submissions for libel or length including letters sent to the editor. The views expressed in the newspapers reflect the views of the individual writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Minstrel or DeSales University.
To contact The Minstrel email minstrel.desales@gmail.com.